Dr. Ben Medlock

Co-founder, SwiftKey

As Co-founder and CTO of SwiftKey, Ben invented an intelligent typing system for smartphones that has transformed the text input industry. The software has become the global best selling app on Android and is preinstalled on tens of millions of mobile devices across the world. Based on advanced natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, the system adapts to individual language usage and device interaction, making touchscreen typing fast and enjoyable. SwiftKey won "most innovative mobile app" at the 2012 GSMA awards, and the company was ranked as the world's 6th most innovative mobile business by Fast Company. Ben developed his expertise in NLP and machine learning during eight years of computer science research, which culminated in a PhD from the University of Cambridge. He has reviewed for a number of prominent international journals, and his academic work is published in ACL, the leading conference for NLP research.